A delegation comprised of vice mayors, city officials and researchers from 11 Chinese cities including Tianjin, Jilin, Xiamen, Shenyang and Guangzhou, participated in a three-day exchange program on low-carbon development organized by ICLEI East Asia Secretariat during the EcoMobility World Festival held in Suwon, South Korea in September 2013.

Through roundtable discussions, site visits and participation at the EcoMobility World Congress, cities shared experience and learning in promoting sustainable urban transportation in their cities. The cities of Jilin, Xiamen and Kangding, also gave insightful presentations on various topics, ranging from urban green mobility initiatives to the greening and upgrading of old town infrastructure.

A key highlight of the program was a site visit to Seoul’s Transport Operation and Information Service Center, where advanced practices and technologies of Seoul’s public transport management system was presented to the participants.

Remarking on Suwon’s car-free Haeggung Dong neighborhood – one of the major features of the month-long EcoMobility World Festival, Liu Jian, Deputy Director of Xiamen City Planning Bureau, said he was deeply impressed. “I am impressed by Suwon city’s efforts and methods of persuading, negotiating and engaging with citizens in the preparation for the festival, this is something I can take and apply to the green transport initiative in Xiamen,” he said.

When asked about the potential of applying the EcoMobility concept to his city, Jilin Vice Mayor Wei Lian Zhang says, “I hope this concept can enter Chinese communities. We should find an innovative way of implementing it so that EcoMobility can be normalized into citizen’s everyday life.”

Moving beyond the technical aspects of urban planning and policy making, the exchange program witnessed a growing mutual understanding and learning between ICLEI East Asia Secretariat and the participating Chinese city representatives.

While ICLEI gained significant insights into China’s recent Eco-city and sustainable transport development, participants benefited from expertise and concepts which could potentially be adapted and applied to their cities. Together, the two are progressing towards more coordinated partnership for future cooperative endeavours.